Return of the Shinebox!

In the wake of their crushing defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Supreme Court, the Minnesota Republican party has come out with an interesting argument to downplay their pain: "we actually won!"

Did you now?  Let's take a look at the facts.

The case: Speaker of the Minnesota House Kurt Daudt lied again, and this time, he brought Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka into the dishonesty.  After negotiating with Governor Mark Dayton to build a framework for this Legislative session's needed bills, bills which fund most of the state departments, Daudt, Gazelka and the Republicans snuck a litany of unapproved, highly partisan extras into the bills, waited until the last second before introducing them, rammed them through the House and Senate, and sent them off to the Governor's office, hoping he wouldn't notice.

To be fair, they wanted him to notice one thing.  In the tax bill, the Republican controlled Legislature snuck in language which stated if Governor Dayton didn't sign the bill, the Minnesota Department of Revenue would immediately be defunded, and shuttered, effectively shutting down the state government.  They labeled this interference into the Executive Branch's independent decision making process as "motivation" and "incentive," but it was the Legislative Branch illegally attempting to control the Executive Branch.

Because the media in this state has inexplicably and unforgivably given the Republicans a pass on their interference play, let me repeat: this all started when the dishonest Republican leadership of the Legislative Branch tried to exert their power illegally over the Executive Branch.

Governor Dayton did indeed see this trickery and was placed in a tough position.  Should he do what the Republicans were trying to make him to do, or should the veto the bill, forcing the Minnesota Government to shut down, hurting Minnesotans.  Governor Dayton, caring more about the citizens of the state than a small political victory, decided to not sign the bill, but not veto it either, allowing it to become law without his signature.

Because it was the the Minnesota Republicans writing the 'sign or else' threat, it was done half assed.  They wrote it to where even if the Governor allowed the bill to come into law without his signature, the Department of Revenue would still become unfunded.  This led to last second frantic calls to Governor Dayton.  Since the Republicans screwed up their Legislative Branch overreach, he actually had to sign the bill to save there Republicans from themselves.

But the Republicans were outsmarted by Dayton again.  Of the spending bills, some he signed, some he vetoed, but using the Constitutional power allowed to the Governor, Dayton line-item vetoed the budget for the Legislative Branch, something he can legally do.  He said if the Legislative Branch wanted to get their funding back, they needed to revisit the bills they'd sent him, removing many of the undiscussed amendments snuck into them, and restore elements he stated needed to be in them.

Daudt and the Republicans were furious, calling this a massive un-Constitutional overreach by the Governor, even though the Governor was only following Constitutional law.  They sued him and took him to court, insisting he doesn't have the right to defund the Legislature.  The case eventually made it to the Supreme Court where the questions asked by the Justices, in my opinion, were pretty telling of their line of thinking.

The Justices seemed to A) explain to the Republicans the Constitution seems clear on the Governor's authority, that Dayton has the power to defund any budget he wants, and B) they vehemently stated they wanted no part of the economics of the state, the job of the Legislative and Executive Branch to hammer out.  The Republicans argued (successfully, to a point) having gaveling closed the House and Senate prior to the line item veto happening, they had no recourse; no opportunity to take a veto override vote, making Dayton's actions unConstitutional, but the Justices pointed out the Republicans were the ones who passed the bills at the last second and left the Capitol of their own accord.  The Justices were looking for the path of least resistance.

Let's recap:

Republicans wanted:

• Dayton's line item veto declared null and void 
• No further discussion on the bills passed and signed into law in 2017

Governor Dayton wanted:

• His line item veto declared Constitutional
• To sit down with the Republicans and hold them to the deals they'd agreed to prior to their Legislative treachery

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Governor Dayton's line item veto WAS Constitutional and ordered Governor Dayton and House and Senate leaders to sit down with a mediator to hammer out the details of a compromise, a compromise which can only happen when Governor Dayton authorizes a special session.

WINNER - Governor Dayton!!!

It's funny how the Republicans are SCREAMING this wasn't a win for the Governor, rather a raucous victory for the right.  They're delusional, desperately trying to turn their humiliating loss into a win.  Let's just call it what it is; they got their asses handed to them.

The biggest mistake the Republicans ever made was mocking Dayton at the beginning of the 2015 special session.  Ever since that moment, Governor Dayton has been relentless in the absolute beatdown he has given Kurt Daudt, Paul Gazelka and the rest of the Republican Party of Minnesota.  They think they're smarter than him.  Reality: compared to Dayton's intellect, they're a howler monkey exhibit, playing with their own droppings.  This was just another triumph in the masterpiece that is Governor Dayton's political maneuvering.  Along with Education policy, it will be his legacy.

Hey Kurt, Paul, and the rest of the MNGOP.  You know the drill.  Go home and get your shineboxes!  The Governor's shoes need to be spiffed up!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!